Culture....

Being back in your own culture again after a prolonged time sure makes you see your own adaptation to the host culture in a new perspective!  Kind of helps you see how far you’ve come.  Not that that in itself is very helpful as you need to adapt once again back into your own culture and usually find that you might never be quite content in either one…..a global person longing for heaven, I guess!

We were in a restaurant when it suddenly started snowing – how exciting!  We all rushed out to taste and feel and see this wonderful light snow.  Others came out too but to my amazement they pulled out cell phones and started calling others and telling them about the snow!   They didn’t pay much attention to the ones around them.  Later I looked at some pictures on facebook and saw the same phenomena – people rather sharing via text or msg or whatever way what they are experiencing.  It could be just a way to tell significant others what you are up to, or it could be that the need for communicating quickly is very important or that time later to retell just don’t exist?  The Now Culture.  Or worse - we don’t talk to each other face to face……if you don’t believe me just quietly watch people around you……

Another little culture shock was to see how task-orientated people really are in our society.  What I need to do comes before greeting you or even acknowledging you.  Here we have certainly adapted well into the African way!  HAHA!!  Where in Africa I need to very patiently greet each and every one and then ask my burning question or go and do what I need to do.  Here again, I find I have to wait very patiently for the other one to go and do or finish up or whatever before I can greet him/her properly. 

I know that heaven is my home – I experience that feeling of being an alien wherever I am (albeit a legal alien!) and I know God gives grace and helps me adjust, but I also know people are important and as a cultures evolve we seem to lose the closer connections that still exist in lesser “developed” cultures.  And if I may I would like to say…..don’t forget the ones that are standing right there beside you.

Bella, heaven's alien.